The Fall of Light and the Birth of Fire
by Duke0713
Summary: The Fall of Light and the Birth of Fire takes a slight divergence from the Odyssey where Oddyseus is knocked unconscious in Poseidon's storm as he sails from Calypso's Island. What might happen? What otherworldly struggles will our favorite (?) hero be put through? *This is my first Fanfiction upload so please excuse any stupid mistakes that I might happen to make.*


Hey, this is my first time writing and actually posting on FF. This story was something that I wrote for school and actually liked so yah.

Anyway, some thing you might want to know:

Achlys- Goddess of Pain and Suffering

Xenia- An Ancient Grecian Tradition of Treating Your Guests With Your Best Hospitality (in Case they were a God or Goddess)

Phobetor- God of Nightmares

Everything else should be basic knowledge from the Odyssey.

 **The Fall of Light and the Birth of Fire**

Sing to me of Agony, Muse, of the Realm of Achlys

Bane of heroes, men, and monsters alike.

Destroyer of hope, rival to happiness

Sing as the webs of misery arch across the minds

Consuming their light, freezing their fire

Watch as the mightiest heroes of memory

Crumble from the inside as Achlys works her web

The man of mind and cunning who has struggled

Fought and lost, sailed and crawled

In search of light, joy, and happiness

Enlighten our curiosity and sate our senses

About the darkest moment of the hero, Odysseus

19 days. It seemed as if that was the only progress I had made over the last grueling decade of my journey home. 19 measly days of sailing. I surveyed the endless expanse of azure, lit up by Helios's crimson ascent to the skies. Not a single puffing cloud in the light-streaked sky. However, that could have changed in an instant; it all depended on the will of the fickle deities who ruled over all of Ionian Greece. I fully knew Poseidon still sought vengeance for my actions against his son, after all, I have long been a veteran of the gods' wrath.

'Hah,' I thought. 'Now, there is no way that I can be prevented since the council has taken my side. Not even Poseidon would dare to cross the full might of Olympus.'

Sound in my logic, which hadn't failed me for decades, I confidently sat on my raft made from untouched woods that grew on immortal Calypso's island. No man but I would call such a beauty a prison; but make no mistake, the claws of the immortals still clutched me tight and sought to bend me to their will however fine of an illusion they wove. As my thoughts wandered to those of my previous test of will, I had the sudden sensation of being gazed upon. Trusting my instincts, I leapt to my feet should I have needed to defend myself and my only hope of survival on this vast spanning sea. A trail of cackling gray clouds started to wisp through the once clear sky.

'What have I done to anger the gods for them to turn their backs on me so capriciously?' I pondered before clambering to grasp the mast so I would not be cast off in the gathering storm.

An hour after the storm appeared, caused almost assuredly by Poseidon, the lord of the raging tempest, I couldn't help but wonder to myself, 'How much of a crime can hubris be for the gods to punish me so?" Of course, the effect would have been ruined had I not been dangling from the mast 10 feet in the air. As I was flung through the sky like a rag doll in the hands of a child, a vicious rogue wave overtook the small raft. Above the sea, inside the broiling storm, the mast thrashed wildly, stretching the ropes that secured it to its pitiful pile of logs. My body swung up as the mast whipped overboard, capsizing the small craft. The wild gales grasped me firmly and catapulted me up and beyond the heights that man was supposed to reach. Tired as my body was, I could no longer retain my wits and succumbed to the darkness of unconsciousness as I impacted the water. Dropping, before I fell to my wounds, I caught sight of one lone figure, briefly illuminated by the shattering lightning, hovering in the air before he dispersed into dark mist.

I awoke to feel the tepid Grecian air swirling around me as the ground shone with a radiant ambience only the setting sun could supply. The luminous golden grass swayed with the will of the wind and I pushed myself up. Rolling hills spanned miles in every direction with lackadaisical cattle, sheep, and swine meandering about. I would recognize these surroundings anywhere; I was finally home in Ithaca, the land of stretching farmlands and rocky crags. Immediately, I sought out the nearest town to find my beloved family for the first time in two decades. A smile stretched across my weathered face, the first one in many years. The countryside that made up the majority of Ithaca sped by as I hurried to my house. Upon entering the town, however, I found an obvious problem with this false Ithaca. Horrified, I collapsed to my knees, once again denied so cruelly by the gods, for the people and citizens of Ithaca were missing.

Slowly, there was the crunch of gravel and the tinkling of metal as someone approached me. I looked up, ready to maim whoever decided to defile my sanctuary, no matter if it was fake, only to meet the enthralling face of someone who drew me to her like a moth to a flame. Penelope's gaze was piercing but then softened as our eyes met. I ran forward and embraced my wife, the one I had left behind when I left for the Trojan War. Behind her, I saw two other figures approach. The one I immediately recognized was my exalted father, Laertes, king before me. I embraced again, now with my father, and then spared the last figure a glance. He shared my stature, my build, and his eyes housed the wily slyness that I myself harbor every day. However, his eyes also gleamed with the unrivalled kindness of my sweet, sweet Penelope, her most alluring trait. Surely, he couldn't be… My mind flashed to the weeping child that I held on the day of my departure. I rushed forwards, eyes wet with tears and wrapped him in a choking grasp. Despite all the joys of these reunions, logic would not let me take this world for granted. I asked, "How am I here in Ithaca? I, myself, have just departed from the other half of the Aegean. That should not be possible unless some divinity pulled me from the grasp of death and Poseidon's storm."

Poised Penelope replied, "My husband, I fear that you are mistaken. While the other and I are not unreal, we are not in Ithaca. We reside inside your head, built from your memories, dreams, and hopes of us."

Shaken by this fact, I questioned, "Then how am I here? The last thing I remember is being flung off my boat."

"You fell into a coma as your brain could no longer handle the trauma of your experience, and your consciousness receded to the back of your mind," she answered. "This is the stem of your hope: your home, your friends, and your family."

But before I could respond, the same dark mist that the figure disappeared into began to congeal a house's distance away. When the face eventually began materializing, I immediately reeled back. The one visiting my consciousness was none other than Phobetor, one of the Oneiroi and the god of nightmares. He immediately caught sight of my flinch and unleashed a maniacal grin worthy of those cursed by Dionysus. He snapped his fingers and the mist collected again. This time, multiple figures formed around the town, and two distinct entities appeared before me. Looking at the forming faces, I recoiled in shock for the second time, for I was staring into the faces of my two former lovers and hosts, Calypso and Circe. They both strode up to my rigid form, still shocked with surprise, and promptly pecked me on the cheek. They then punched me in the gut before jerking my head around to view the town.

"Hello Odysseus," snarled Circe.

"I do hope you haven't replaced us with that wench Penelope," finished Calypso.

"Anyway, you're most likely wondering how in the world we got here,"

"After you, departed, from both of our islands, Phobetor visited and with him, Poseidon," narrated Calypso.

"Ahh, Poseidon, such a nice fellow. He provided us the best opportunity by mentally allowing us to enter your dream world so that we could have one last farewell."

"None of the immortals do any deed for free. What was your price?" I interjected.

"Ahh, yes. Well, Phobetor told us that all we had to do was to destroy this town inside of your mind. But then again, we both decided, if you had us, what else could you possibly need?"

My gut clenched as I realized the full implications of the act they were doing. "You fools. If this is truly my hope and happiness, you would be destroying it all!"

"We know. But then again, we're just returning a favor for making us suffer all that much more. Now, watch as your sanctuary goes up in flames!"

My eyes jerked to the town, only to watch a house crush Laertes as he tried to fight the behemoth, Polyphemus. "FATHER!" I screamed. I struggled against the magical bonds that held me, woven as I was distracted by the lustrous goddesses. As I struggled, I saw Penelope and Telemachus running towards the boat, away from the enraged giant that was tearing up the city in search of them. "Escape in the boats!" I yelled. Their eyes widened as they heard the idea and quickly dove into a small raft, barely dodging one of Scylla's six heads. They quickly paddled out before I realized that one of the nightmares that terrorized my groups was missing. "GET BACK!" I yelled. "Charybdis is out there." They gasped in realization of the peril, and they frantically paddled back as a gigantic whirlpool started building up. The whirlpool grew greater in width until at the very bottom, an enormous mouth opened its gaping maw, the jaws that gulp death. The skiff was slowly dragged in until the two franticly doubled their efforts and managed to beach. However, as soon as their feet hit ground, a flash of glinting light followed by a scream indicated that Penelope had been the victim of Scylla, her corpse now dangling from Scylla's mouth. I saw Telemachus wildly dodging the flashing heads of Scylla and mentally cheered him on until I saw Calypso and Circe sneaking up behind him. "Telemachus, behind you!" I yelled, but it was too late. Circe snapped her fingers and Telemachus appeared as one of Circe's trademark pigs. He squealed in alarm, before the two immortals seized his limbs, dragged him, writhing, to the beach, and dropped him into the swirling whirlpool. Snorting for air, the swine was dragged deeper and deeper until his descended down, into the gullet of Charybdis. The bonds that held him disappeared, and I fell to my knees in horror. Like an escaped psychopath, Phobetor, the silent spectator, approached me, laughing maniacally. He snapped his fingers and the monsters phased out of existence, leaving behind only the desolate ruins of home.

Turning around to leave, Phobetor said one last word. "Give Poseidon my best," and disappeared in a glimmer of darkness. The town was silent except for the crackling of the embers as everything burned. The sky was colored blood red while the bonfires released waves of shimmering heat into the sky. Slowly, the world burned down until the only thing remaining was the shattered man, me. Grief-stricken and broken, I lay in a huddled mess, the tears streaking down my face, only an afterthought.

'Why?'

The thought came as whisper, but the question resonated throughout my consciousness and it answered. Of course. I knew the answer.

I clenched my jaws in agony and closed my eyes.

'Why?' The sound came again, this time as an audible, harsh whisper. I looked up in shock to see the condemning gazes of my now deceased family. Their faces streaked with veins of purple, they unleashed their hatred at my failure. However, I toned out all of their sharp accusations, my mind on only one thing.

'Why?'

Once again, the shimmering forms of my family, painted with hatred and blame, phased out of existence and I was alone, shouldering my unbearable guilt. The passage of time no longer mattered as I stayed collapsed on my knees, weeping at my failure and my inability to take action when my family needed. The question was still there.

'Why? What did I do wrong? How can I fix this mess?'

I fell asleep that day, clutching my head in pain, as the sound logic that I relied on so much, failed. When I woke up to the once dark void, I was surprised to find the visage of Athena, my patron, in front of me.

She asked, "Have you found the answer?" When I shook my head, no, in frustration, she replied, "You need not any logic, Odysseus, for the answer has been within yourself this whole time. Is this really how far my champion has fallen? To be brought to his knees because of his inability to use logic."

Angered, I rushed to my knees to retort, only to realize the folly of my actions. The realization struck me hard, leaving me out of breath, as if a boar had just gored me through. Me. That was the answer all along. My flaws, my weaknesses, they were the problems, and they were the cause of the death of my family, for there will always be an ocean of enemies, but the only thing preventing you from ending their existence is yourself. The sky suddenly filled with the blazing flames of emotions. Rage. Anger. Sorrow. Helplessness. My body burned with an unearthly blaze as I felt the need to protect those I cared for rise above all other feelings, spurring the bloodlust within myself. Athena wryly smiled and touched my forehead with a single finger. The world started spinning as I fell into darkness again while Athena said one last thought.

'Do as you need to, my champion.'

I awoke to the cool sensation of a wet cloth hanging on my forehead. I opened my eyes for the first time since my shipwreck to find a pair of youthful brown eyes staring back. My aching body groaned in protest as I attempted to bring myself to a sitting pose inside the small glade. The girl's eyes widened before she laid me back down.

"Rest. I found you merely 5 days ago drifting up onto the beach, and are still recovering. Maybe we can visit my parents when you are all well."

"Wait, what's your name?" I managed to croak out as lances of pain assailed my dry throat.

"Oh. I'm really sorry. My name is Nausicaa, and I've been the one to take care of you for the past few days. Pleased to meet you…"

"Odysseus," I supplied. And that was the blooming of an amazing friendship.


End file.
